Even organised animal selfies can be dangerous – but not necessarily for the humans involved.

Activists have warned that in some popular holiday destinations, animals like monkeys, tigers and elephants are being abused.

“The irony is that people usually take these photos because they love animals,” Chiara Vitali, of World Animal Protection, told The Independent last year. “But behind that selfie there’s often a lot of abuse.

“If you’re having a picture taken with a tiger cub, chances are that it’s been dragged out like a prop then taken back to its cage at night when tigers should be allowed to roam. To get that picture of a lifetime, it might have taken a lifetime of animal cruelty.”

People have also sparked anger by taking selfies in inappropriate places, including crime scenes.

A man was criticised online for apparently taking a selfie, using a selfie stick, at the site of the Westminster terror attack. One Twitter user branded it “everything that’s wrong with humanity”.

Earlier this year the Metropolitan Police was forced to apologise after two officers posted a selfie on Twitter from the site of a murder in east London.

The pair were “spoken to” after showing “a lack of judgement and sensitivity”, the force said.

Quotes and Sayings

I believe that we must maintain pride in the knowledge that the actions we take, based on our own decisions and choices as individuals, link directly to the magnificent challenge of transforming human history.